The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Spicy New Yoorleans.
The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a mutation induction breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Fort Myers, Fla., and Salinas, Calif. The objective of the program is to create new Chrysanthemum cultivars with desirable inflorescence form and floret colors and good postproduction longevity.
The new Chrysanthemum originated by exposing unrooted cuttings of the Chrysanthemum cultivar New Yoorleans, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,215, to X-ray radiation in December, 1996, in Fort Myers, Fla. Following the radiation treatment, the cuttings were rooted and terminal apices were removed (pinched) three times to promote lateral branch development. After lateral branches from the third pinch reached sufficient size, terminal cuttings were harvested, planted and flowered in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif. The new Chrysanthemum was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within this population in April, 1997. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence form and ray floret color.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in Salinas, Calif. in July, 1997. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar Spicy New Yoorleans has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Spicy New Yoorleansxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Spicy New Yoorleansxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct Chrysanthemum:
1. Upright and uniformly mounded plant habit.
2. Freely branching, dense and full plants.
3. Uniform flowering response.
4. Early flowering, eight-week response time.
5. Freely flowering.
6. Daisy-type inflorescences that are about 6.5 cm in diameter.
7. Bright red and yellow bicolored ray florets and bright yellow disc florets.
8. Production of pollen has not been observed.
9. Good postproduction longevity with inflorescences maintaining good substance and color for about three weeks in an interior environment.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum differ from the Chrysanthemum cultivar Festive New Yoorleans, disclosed in U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 09/525,660, primarily in ray floret color.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum differ from plants of the parent Chrysanthemum cultivar New Yoorleans in the following characteristics:
1. Ray florets of plant of the new Chrysanthemum are red and yellow bicolored whereas ray florets of plants of the cultivar New Yoorleans are dark pink and white bicolored.
2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower about one or two days later than plants of the cultivar New Yoorleans.